When tax is owing, the Taxman will inevitably come looking for the money. He starts gently, and politely. As in a chess game, the first moves are with pawns. As the magnitude of the tax owing and the passage of time escalates, so do the moves of the game. By the time the CRA deploys its knights and bishops, you should consider your queen to be under attack, and your king in check.

To visualize how, and how quickly, tax trouble can turn dangerous, use this Sliding Scale to rate your tax problem. The higher you rank on the scale, the greater your danger.

Understanding the ways in which collection of tax can escalate into ever more dangerous waters may help you understand when and where to seek help before the CRA calls checkmate.